


two plain and simple lines

by fallencrest



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 01:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5648905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallencrest/pseuds/fallencrest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Williams has always been really happy not to have a soulmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	two plain and simple lines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [outruntheavalanche](https://archiveofourown.org/users/outruntheavalanche/gifts).



> Happy new year! I really hope you like this little fic. I wish I could have expanded it a bit but holiday madness overruled me on that one! I tried to include a few of the "likes" you included in your fandom_stocking sign-up, so I really hope you enjoy it! Hope you've had a wonderful holiday season.

The thing is Danny Williams has always been really happy not to have a soulmate. He got married to someone who was not his soulmate and, sure, it hadn't been easy, but the idea that anything like that was supposed to be easy kind of freaked him out. Yeah, he and Rachel had fought but that was basically what people were meant to do – people were crazy and difficult to live with and Danny was used to that. 

But then, well, then there's Steve. 

Danny sees the mark almost right away, gun still outstretched in his hand. He tries to make sure he doesn't falter. 

He's almost certain Steve sees his too.

 

They don't talk about it though. How are you meant to raise something like that? _Oh, hi, your dad is dead and I'm investigating his murder and also I don't really think a soulbond is for me but, hey, I figure I could be yours._ Yeah, not great. Though he feels gladder than he ought to when he sees Steve again, way gladder than he'd expect to be when a weird guy came knocking on his door and started trying to tell him what to do. 

 

The mark is, well, it's not like most people's. Most people get a name or a word or something that seems meaningful. All Danny's got are two lines, bold and clear, straight and parallel, more like an equals sign than anything else. And, it turns out, so does Steve. 

Danny resolves to keep his shirt sleeves buttoned and not to roll them up but it's a damn hard habit to break.

 

They don't talk about it when Danny gets shot. They don't talk about it when Steve makes it clear he expects Danny to stick around for this task force gig. 

Danny is just left sitting there looking at Steve and wondering why, even as he wonders whether he could – can't bring himself to think “love him”. 

Steve's hot, is the thing. Danny has eyes, Danny knows. And Danny figures he could do a lot of things with Steve and he'd like to – except that there are things he doesn't want, things he's spent his whole life not wanting and he isn't sure he's willing to go back on that just because of two bars of black running down Steve's wrists. 

His breath catches thinking about it, in his memory, his mind's eye, his eyes pann down Steve's broad forearm to his wrist, his hand. Fuck.

 

Kono is the one who ruins it. They hadn't formally agreed on silence, partly Danny guessed because it'd undermine the whole idea of a silence to talk about it. And, hey, if he can keep his motormouth shut, he's pretty sure Mr Stoic can too. But Kono ruins it, of course she does.

“Hey Steve,” she says, gesturing with the bottle of beer in her hand, “how come you don't wear a guard over your mark like most military guys?”

Steve's in a tight black t-shirt, arms on show, mark right there, held up with the hand holding his own beer for anyone to see. 

Danny twitches his marked arm under the table – the place it's been almost all night so far, even with his long sleeves. Almost curses himself for not having picked up a cheap guard himself.

Steve shrugs, like it's no big deal. “Never wanted to,” he says.

“And they just let you?” Kono asks. Her eyebrows furrow but Danny thinks it's less genuine confusion than incredulity, “I thought it was protocol if you were in dangerous situations, you know, what if they kidnap your mate because they find out what your mark looks like. I thought it was dangerous for unbonded,” she takes a drinks, a break, and Danny just listens because this is news to him, actually, or at least not something he's thought about in a long time. “Since it's way harder to look after someone unidentified, right?” She continues, “Not like with family.” 

Danny swallows, tries to cover his discomfort by taking a drink. He hadn't thought about this – not about any of this since police training camp when they'd said some guys preferred to cover up but it wasn't considered necessary for regular duty. He'd laughed about it then. He'd married someone who wasn't his soulmate. His soulmate wasn't someone he cared about. But here's Steve, Steve who apparently cared so little about putting him in danger that he openly flaunted his mark in dangerous situations, where scary people probably were out to get him. The SEALs probably even had people who tracked soulmates, they'd probably found him and Steve probably knew. Steve could have known about him for years and simply not wanted him and not cared to protect him.

“I wanted them to find my soulmate,” Steve says, coughs as if to clear his throat. “I didn't think there would be a risk to– to that person. I never wanted to go looking because I had other things to think about but I wanted to find my soulmate and I knew that if someone really wanted to, they probably could.” 

Danny looks at Steve but Steve is decidedly not looking at him. Steve looks at Kono and then out at the island sky behind her, tinged with a tropical sunset. 

“The SEALs tried, so they could use the information for surveillance and protection; but my soulmate hadn't registered their mark with any organisation for matching, government or otherwise, and there was no sign that my soulmate had ever looked for me.” Steve shrugs, “After a while, they gave up.”

“But what if that person had been kidnapped, huh?” Danny cuts in, unable to hold back suddenly. “Or what if they'd been killed? What if someone broke into that person's nice family home and killed them and their wife and kid and –”

“I–” Steve begins, finally looking at Danny. The hurt in his eyes would be enough to break Danny, if Danny would only let it. He doesn't intend to let it.

“I,” Kono says with a touch of theatricality, “am leaving. You guys are weird.” But Danny could swear that, as she gets up, she winks at Steve. He kind of wants to punch something – or at least to yell a lot. Yelling would probably do.

“I would never have let that happen,” Steve says, eyes fixed on Danny. “Believe me.” 

He looks like he's about to put a hand on Danny's, the unmarked on, the one on the table. He stops when he sees Danny flinch. 

“Sorry,” Steve says.

“I don't believe in it,” Danny says. Then, realising the ambiguity of his words, “Soulmates. Not for me, I–“ he looks down, “just don't.”

“That's okay,” Steve says. “We don't have to.”

They do anyway.


End file.
